gender gap still wide in russian politics -...
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Russia is known for being a patriarchalcountry, but despite considerablebarriers, some women leaders havemanaged to reach high levels in thepolitical hierarchy.
Women make up only 13 percent ofdeputies in the Russian State Duma (61seats out of 450, following the 2012national elections), and at the federallevel, their representation is even lower -at 6 percent.
In 2012, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Russian wasranked 96 - as one of the bottomcountries in terms of women’sparticipation in politics and decision-making processes, along with Somaliaand Swaziland - with only 13 femalesenators out of a total of 163.
As well as being limited in number,Russia's women politicians aren't
portrayed as having a lot of influence, and none of them were listed in theForbes’ ranking of “the world’s most powerful women”.
Olga Kryshtanovskaya, an expert on the Russian political elite and memberof Putin's United Russia Party, says that the patriarchal nature of Russiansociety is to blame for the low levels of women’s political participation. Shesays that some high-profile male politicians have only "let in" womenpoliticians who don't have their own opinions, look good and are essentiallypuppets.
However, Kryshtanovskaya believes that strong and independently-mindedwomen-leaders are starting to emerge in Russia. And one recent example isElvira Nabiulina, Russia's former Minister for Economics, who, this year, washand picked by President Vladimir Putin to lead Russia’s Central Bank.Nabiulina is the first woman to head a Group of Eight monetary authority.
The Russian Federation has never been ruled by a female prime minister orpresident, but it's not out of the question, according to Kryshtanovskaya, whothinks that Valentina Matvienko, may be a contender. The former governor ofRussia's “second capital" St. Petersburg, Matvienko now chairs theFederation Council – the upper house of the Russian Parliament, havingbecome the third highest-ranking politician in the country, after Putin andPrime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Matvienko is known for her no-nonsensemanagement style and her loyalty to the Kremlin.
Despite being a prominent supporter of Putin and working in his electioncampaign in 2012, Kryshtanovskaya says, albeit with a smile, that Putin hassexist attitudes and "is inclined to think a woman’s place is in the kitchen".
According to a 2011 poll from VTSIOM (the All-Russian Centre for the Study of Public Opinion),14 percent of respondents thought that Russiahas too many female politicians, 37 percentthought that their number should be increased,while 33 percent thought the number shouldstay the same. Half of the respondents
Home > Politics
Gender gap still wide in Russian politicsSeptember 11, 2013 Yaroslava Kiryukhina, RBTH
Women are poorly represented in politics in Russia, although a handful of womenpoliticans have reached key positions.
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supported the idea of quotas for womenpoliticians, and only 5 percent stronglyopposed the idea.
Currently Russia doesn't have any prominent political parties which supportthe rights of women. Following the collapse of the USSR, the Women ofRussia Party emerged, and - initially - had some electoral success. Theconservative and essentially communist group, which positioned itself aspromoting the interests of women and children, won 8.1 percent of the voteand 23 seats in the 1993 elections. However, the party is no longer a force inRussian politics and it hasn't changed its political platform in a decade.
Last year, however, the Russian Justice Ministry registered the new ForWomen of Russia Party, which positions itself as non-feminist but promotingequal gender participation. The party has around 100,000 members andpromotes the “restoration of family values”.
The Western feminist movement bypassed Soviet women and after the fallof Communism, feminism didn't get a good rap in Russia and has remaineda fringe movement.
There have, however, been calls for the implementation of quotas for womenpoliticians and Deputy Elena Mizulina is one prominent MP who promotesthe idea.
Kryshtanovskaya, however, doesn't believe in preferential policies forwomen. She says it should be equal for all, and adds somewhat ironically:"Russian men are dying out at rapid pace." And she has a point: there are 10million more women (76,275) than men (65,639) in Russia, and the death-rate in 2010 was 8707 women and 17,787 men per 100,000 citizens -according to VTSIOM.
In 2011, Russia's then Minister for Health,Tatyana Golikova, announced at a meeting withthe UN High Commissioner Navanethem Pillaythat Russia was preparing a gender-equalitybill. “Russia doesn't have any gender-equalitylegislation to and, as yet, we don’t have any realmechanisms to eliminate genderdiscrimination," she said.
However, the adoption of the bill was put onhold, and when a similar bill was approved by the State Duma in 2003, it waslater blocked by the executive government.
Women politicians in Russia, as in many countries, are subject to sexistcoverage in the mainstream media and blogsphere. Undermining them byridiculing or unduly focusing on their appearance and making allegationsabout their sexual relations with male politicians is common. In Russia, thishas seriously undermined the credibility of those targetted.
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Paul NeubauerActually, gender discrimination is rational andreasonable. The west embrasure of genderMarxism (know… See MoreSep 14, 2013
1 person
Tito PerduePreciselySep 22, 2013 · Like
Tito PerdueVery tragic that Russia has allowed women toenter politics, or to vote. They (women) are nomore… See MoreSep 22, 2013
3 people
Raven GattoOh, c'mon. Women are fine at writing novels.Sep 22, 2013 · Like
Rose Oloño MartinezTito when people are ignorant it always looksbetter when they keep silent!! There are manywomen who won… See MoreSep 22, 2013 · Like · 2
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